Contents

The audience is introduced to Andreas Winkelman, a man living alone and emotionally desolate after the recent demise of his marriage. He meets Anna, who is grieving the recent deaths of her husband and son. She uses a cane as a result of the car crash that killed them. While Anna uses Andreas' phone, he listens to her conversation, after which she departs visibly distraught. Anna has left her handbag behind and Andreas searches it, finding and reading a letter from her husband that will later prove she is deceptive.

Andreas is friends with a married couple, Eva and Elis (mutual friends of Anna) who are also in the midst of psychological turmoil. Elis is an amateur photographer who organizes his work based on emotion. Eva feels Elis has grown tired of her and has problems sleeping. One night while Elis is away, Eva visits Andreas, as she is bored and lonely. They listen to music and drink wine, which makes them drowsy, and finally Eva sleeps for several hours. When she wakes up, they have sex. Afterward, she explains that during her only pregnancy years ago, she went to the hospital to treat her insomnia. The medicine they gave her helped her condition but killed the child. She conveys that it allowed her and Elis to share a moment of emotional affinity.

Andreas visits Elis whom he promised could photograph him. Elis leaves the room for a moment and Eva enters. In their conversation, Eva reveals that Anna has moved in with Andreas, and though she is not displeased (as she likes both of them), she warns him to be wary of Anna. Elis enters the room; when Eva asks him why he looks angry, he says he only gets angry at human trifles (alluding to the affair).

Their relationship is not passionate, but Andreas and Anna start off relatively content. Anna appears zealous in her faith and steadfast in her search for truth, but gradually her delusions surface-reinforced by what Andreas read in the letter. For his part, Andreas is unable to overcome his feelings of deep humiliation about himself and remains disconnected, further dooming the relationship with Anna, as he prefers solitude and freedom to companionship.

Throughout the film, an unknown person among the island community commits acts of animal cruelty, hanging a dog and violently killing cattle. A friend of Andreas is wrongly accused of these crimes, leading the community to threaten and beat him, catalyzing his suicide. Within a few days of the friend's death, Anna and Andreas have a physical fight during which they reveal their strong distaste for each other. Afterwards, Anna lies in bed while Andreas follows two firetrucks that passed his home. They were headed to a large barn fire. When Andreas arrives, he is told that the unknown man who is the true culprit of the animal cruelty covered a barn full of animals in gasoline and lit it on fire, locking the animals in. It is obvious to the community that Andreas' friend was unjustly abused and committed suicide because of flimsy human suspicion, therefore, chances for healing are lost.

Anna shows up at the fire in her car. Andreas gets in. As they drive down the road beside the sea, Andreas explains that he desires his solitude again and that their parting will not be difficult as neither one truly loved the other. He also reveals that he knows the truth about her husband. Anna begins to speed the car while he talks. He asks if she is going to kill him like she killed her husband and they fight over the wheel. Eventually he stops the car in the flat ground beside the road. He tells her she is out of her mind. Anna drives away while Andreas paces back and forth on the side of the road.

The film has its origins in Bergman's 1968 film Shame, also starring Ullmann and Von Sydow. After shooting of Shame completed, Fårö's environmental regulations required the house built for the film be burned, but Bergman had developed an attachment to its appearance and saved it by claiming there were plans to use it in another film.[2] He began writing The Passion of Anna, and with Von Sydow and Ullmann still contracted to work with him, envisioned The Passion of Anna as "virtually a sequel."[2]

Author Jerry Vermilye wrote that in exploring "the thread of violence intruding on ordinary lives," Hour of the Wolf (1968), Shame and The Passion of Anna represent a trilogy.[3] Author Amir Cohen-Shalev concurred the films form a trilogy.[4] Cohen-Shalev wrote that, like Persona and Shame, The Passion of Anna follows an "artist as fugitive" theme touching on issues of guilt and self-hatred.[4]

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Passion of Anna garnered 100% approval among 12 critics.[5]Vincent Canby argued that "it does seem designed more for the indefatigable Bergman cryptologists (of which I am not one) than for interested, but uncommitted filmgoers", but praised its lead actors' performances and wrote that "Bergman gives each of them extraordinary moments of cinematic truth, monologues of sustained richness and drama".[6]

The film is not considered one of Bergman's greatest works, but retrospective evaluations are still positive. Sam Jordison wrote for Film4, "While it lacks the lightness of touch and smooth flow that distinguishes Bergman at his finest, this is still a powerful, profound work of art."[7]

1.
Ingmar Bergman
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Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer, and producer who worked in film, television, theatre and radio. He directed over sixty films and documentaries for cinematic release and for television and he also directed over 170 plays. From 1953 he forged a creative partnership with his full-time cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Among his company of actors were Harriet and Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Björnstrand, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, most of his films were set in Sweden, and numerous films from Through a Glass Darkly onward were filmed on the island of Fårö. His work often dealt with death, illness, faith, betrayal, bleakness and insanity. Ingmar Bergman was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of Erik Bergman, a Lutheran minister and later chaplain to the King of Sweden, and Karin and he grew up with his older brother Dag and sister Margareta surrounded by religious imagery and discussion. His father was a parish minister with strict ideas of parenting. Ingmar was locked up in dark closets for infractions, such as wetting the bed, there was everything that ones imagination could desire—angels, saints, dragons, prophets, devils, humans. Although raised in a devout Lutheran household, Bergman later stated that he lost his faith at age eight and only came to terms with this fact while making Winter Light in 1962. His interest in theatre and film began early, At the age of nine, he traded a set of tin soldiers for a magic lantern, a possession that altered the course of his life. Within a year, he had created, by playing with this toy and he fashioned his own scenery, marionettes, and lighting effects and gave puppet productions of Strindberg plays in which he spoke all the parts. Bergman attended Palmgrens School as a teenager and his school years were unhappy, and he remembered them unfavorably in later years. Bergman wrote in a response that he had disliked the emphasis on homework. In 1934, aged 16, he was sent to Germany to spend the vacation with family friends. He attended a Nazi rally in Weimar at which he saw Adolf Hitler, Bergman commented that Hitler was unbelievably charismatic. The Nazism I had seen seemed fun and youthful, Bergman did two five-month stretches of mandatory military service. In 1937 he entered Stockholm University College to study art and literature and he spent most of his time involved in student theatre and became a genuine movie addict. At the same time, a romantic involvement led to a break with his father lasted for years

2.
Max von Sydow
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Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor who became a French citizen in 2002. He has appeared in films in many languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, English, French, Italian. He received the Royal Foundation of Swedens Cultural Award in 1954, was made a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 2005, Sydow has appeared in well over a hundred films and TV shows. In 2016, Sydow joined the cast of HBOs hit series Game of Thrones, Max von Sydow was born Carl Adolf von Sydow in Lund, to a wealthy family. His father, Carl Wilhelm von Sydow, was an ethnologist and professor of Irish, Scandinavian and his mother, Baroness Maria Margareta Greta, was a schoolteacher. Some of his ancestry is German, his family’s origin is in Pomerania, now a region mostly in Poland, formerly part of Prussia, the particle von means of and usually indicates aristocratic descent. Sydow was brought up as a Lutheran and later became an agnostic and he attended Lund Cathedral School, where he learned German and English, starting at the age of nine. At school he and some friends founded a theatrical company. He completed his service before studying at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. During his time at Dramaten, he made his debuts in Alf Sjöbergs films Only a Mother and Miss Julie. In 1955, Sydow moved to Malmö, where he met his mentor and his first work with Bergman occurred on stage at the Malmö Municipal Theatre, and he would go on to work with Bergman on films such as The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and The Virgin Spring. In The Seventh Seal, Sydow is the knight who plays a game with Death. The chess scenes and the film were international breakthroughs for actor and director alike and it was in these films that Sydow honed and perfected his craft. Max von Sydow came to dominate the screen as he did the stage, critical recognition came as early as 1954 when he was awarded the Royal Foundation Culture Award. He worked profusely on both stage and screen while in Scandinavia, resisting the calls from the United States to go to Hollywood. As his talents were soon in demand in other American productions, von Sydow, from 1965, he became a regular on the American screen while maintaining a presence in his native Sweden. In 1969, he appeared in John Hustons The Kremlin Letter, though often typecast as a villain, he was rewarded in the United States with two Golden Globe nominations, for Hawaii in 1966 and The Exorcist in 1973. In the mid-1970s, Sydow moved to Rome and began to appear in a number of Italian films, becoming friendly with another screen legend, Marcello Mastroianni

3.
Liv Ullmann
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Liv Johanne Ullmann is a Norwegian actress and film director. She is known as one of the muses of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, Ullmann won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama in 1972 for the film The Emigrants, and has been nominated for another four. In 2000, she was nominated for the Palme dOr for her directorial feature film. She has also received two BAFTA Award nominations for her performances in Scenes from a Marriage and Face to Face, and two Academy Award nominations for The Emigrants and Face to Face. Ullmann was born in Tokyo, Japan, the daughter of Erik Viggo Ullmann, a Norwegian aircraft engineer who was working in Tokyo at the time, and Janna Erbe, also Norwegian. Her grandfather was sent to the Dachau concentration camp during the Second World War for helping Jewish people escape from the town where he lived in Norway, he died in the camp. When she was two old, the family relocated to Toronto, Ontario, where her father worked at the Norwegian air force base on Toronto Island during World War II. The family moved to New York, where four years later, her father died of a brain tumor and her mother worked as a bookseller while raising two daughters. They eventually returned to Norway, settling in Trondheim, Ullmann began her acting career as a stage actress in Norway during the mid-1950s. Ullmann acted with Laurence Olivier in A Bridge Too Far, directed by Richard Attenborough, during 1971, Ullmann was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for the movie The Emigrants, and again during 1976 for the movie Face to Face. Ullmann made her New York City stage debut in 1975 also in A Dolls House, appearances in Anna Christie and Ghosts followed, as well as the less than successful musical version of I Remember Mama. This show, composed by Richard Rodgers, experienced numerous revisions during a preview period. She also featured in the widely deprecated musical movie remake of Lost Horizon during 1973, the role subsequently went to Angie Dickinson. In 1982 Ingmar Bergman wanted Ullmann to play the main character Emelie Ekdahl in his last feature film, Fanny and Alexander, but Ullmann felt the role was too sad and declined. Liv Ullmann later stated in interviews that turning it down was one of the few things she really regrets, during 1984 she was chairperson of the jury at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival, and during 2002 chaired the jury of Cannes Film Festival. She introduced her daughter, Linn Ullmann, to the audience with the words and her daughter was there to receive the Prize of Honour on behalf of her father, she would return to serve the jury herself during 2011. In 2003 Ullmann reprised her role for Scenes from a Marriage in Saraband and this was her comeback as an actress since her last role on the screen, in the Swedish movie Zorn. In 2004 Ullmann revealed that she had received an offer in November 2003 to play in 3 episodes of the popular American series, Sex, Ullmann was amused by the offer and said that it was one of the few programs she regularly watched, but she turned it down

4.
Bibi Andersson
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Bibi Andersson is a Swedish actress. Bibi Andersson was born as Berit Elisabeth Andersson in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, the daughter of Karin, a worker, and Josef Andersson. She studied acting at the Terserus Drama School and at the legendary Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm, after completing school, she agreed to join the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, which she was associated with for 30 years. Her first collaboration with Ingmar Bergman was in 1951, when she participated in his production of an advertisement for the detergent Bris. In 1963 at the 13th Berlin International Film Festival, Andersson won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award for her role in Vilgot Sjömans film The Mistress, for her role in Persona, she won the award for Best Actress at the 4th Guldbagge Awards. More Bergman collaborations followed, and she worked with John Huston. She made her debut in American theatre in 1973 with a production of Erich Maria Remarques Full Circle and her most famous American film is I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, that also starred Kathleen Quinlan. In 1990, she worked as a director in Stockholm. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Andersson worked primarily in television and as a theatre actress and she was also a supervisor for the humanitarian project Road to Sarajevo. In 1996, she published her autobiography Ett ögonblick and she has been married to the director Kjell Grede with whom she has a daughter, Jenny, and, secondly, to the politician and writer Per Ahlmark. Since 29 May 2004, Andersson has been married to Gabriel Mora Baeza, in 2009 she suffered a massive stroke. An article from 2010 says that she had since been hospitalized, unable to speak

5.
Sven Nykvist
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Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman. His work is noted for its naturalism and simplicity. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, in 2003, Nykvist was judged one of historys ten most influential cinematographers in a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild. Nykvist was born in Moheda, Kronobergs län, Sweden and his parents were Lutheran missionaries who spent most of their lives in the Belgian Congo, so Nykvist was raised by relatives in Sweden and saw his parents rarely. His father was an amateur photographer of African wildlife, whose activities may have sparked Nykvists interest in the visual arts. A talented athlete in his youth, Nykvists first cinematic effort was to film himself taking a high jump, after a year at the Municipal School for Photographers in Stockholm, he entered the Swedish film industry at the age of 19. In 1941, he became an assistant cameraman at Sandrews studio and he moved to Italy in 1943 to work at Cinecittà Studios, returning to Sweden two years later. In 1945, aged 23, he became a full-fledged cinematographer, back in Sweden, he began to work with the director Ingmar Bergman in 1953 on Sawdust and Tinsel. He was one of three cinematographers to work on film, the others being Gunnar Fischer and Hilding Bladh. Nykvist would eventually become Bergmans full-time cinematographer and push the work in a new direction. He worked as cameraman on Bergmans Oscar-winning films The Virgin Spring in 1959. He revolutionised the way faces are shot in close-up with Bergmans psychologically intense Persona in 1966, Nykvist won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for two of his films, Cries and Whispers, and Fanny and Alexander, both of which were Bergman films. At the 9th Guldbagge Awards in 1973 he won the Special Achievement award for his work on Cries and he won a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his work on The Sacrifice, the last film of the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. He was the first European cinematographer to join the American Society of Cinematographers and he wrote three books, including Curtain Call in 1999. His ex-wife, Ulrika, died in 1982, Nykvists career was brought to a sudden end in 1998 when he was diagnosed with aphasia, and he died in 2006, aged 83. He is survived by his son, Carl-Gustaf Nykvist, who directed his first film, Woman on the Roof, in 1989 and directed a documentary about his father, Light Keeps Me Company,1999

6.
United Artists
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United Artists is an American film and television entertainment studio. The studio was bought, sold and restructured over the ensuing century. On December 14 of the year, however, MGM acquired the 48% stake of UAMG it did not own. UA was incorporated as a joint venture on February 5,1919, by Pickford, Chaplin, Fairbanks, each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo. The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, already Hollywood veterans, the four stars talked of forming their own company to better control their own work. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors who were tightening their control over salaries and creative decisions. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before anything was formalized, when he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland, head of Metro Pictures, is said to have observed, The inmates are taking over the asylum. The four partners, with advice from McAdoo, formed their distribution company and its headquarters was established at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The original terms called for each of the stars to produce five pictures each year, UAs first film was a success. Without selling stock to the public, following the other studios, as a result, production was slow and the company distributed an annual average of five films during its first five years. By 1924 Griffith had dropped out and the company was facing a crisis, veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. He had been producing pictures for a decade, and he brought commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge, his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge, contracts were signed with independent producers, most notably Samuel Goldwyn, and Howard Hughes. In 1933, Schenck organized a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck, called Twentieth Century Pictures, Schenck formed a separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. They began international operations, first in Canada and then in Mexico, by the end of the 1930s, United Artists was represented in over 40 countries. When he was denied a share in 1935, Schenck resigned. He set up 20th Century Pictures merger with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century Fox, al Lichtman succeeded Schenck as company president. Other independent producers distributed through United Artists in the 1930s including, Walt Disney Productions, Alexander Korda, Hal Roach, David O. Selznick, as the years passed, and the dynamics of the business changed, these producing partners drifted away. Samuel Goldwyn Productions and Disney went to RKO, and Wanger to Universal Pictures, in the late 1930s, UA turned a profit

7.
Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken natively by more than 9 million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is currently the largest of the North Germanic languages by number of speakers, Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties descended from the rural dialects still exist. The standard word order is, as in most Germanic languages, V2, Swedish morphology is similar to English, that is, words have comparatively few inflections. There are two genders, no cases, and a distinction between plural and singular. Older analyses posit the cases nominative and genitive and there are remains of distinct accusative and dative forms as well. Adjectives are compared as in English, and are inflected according to gender, number. The definiteness of nouns is marked primarily through suffixes, complemented with separate definite and indefinite articles, the prosody features both stress and in most dialects tonal qualities. The language has a large vowel inventory. Swedish is also notable for the voiceless velar fricative, a highly variable consonant phoneme. Swedish is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, by many general criteria of mutual intelligibility, the Continental Scandinavian languages could very well be considered dialects of a common Scandinavian language. In the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language began to undergo new changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, the dialects of Old East Norse that were spoken in Sweden are called Runic Swedish while the dialects of Denmark are referred to as Runic Danish. The dialects are described as runic because the body of text appears in the runic alphabet. Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the Elder Futhark alphabet, Old Norse was written with the Younger Futhark alphabet, from 1200 onwards, the dialects in Denmark began to diverge from those of Sweden. An early change that separated Runic Danish from the dialects of Old East Norse was the change of the diphthong æi to the monophthong é. This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read stain, there was also a change of au as in dauðr into a long open ø as in døðr dead

8.
Erland Josephson
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Erland Josephson was a Swedish actor and author. He was best known by audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky. Josephson was born on the island of Kungsholmen, in Stockholm, Sweden, as the son of Maud Ellen Gabrielle and Gunnar August Josephson and his uncle was diplomat Erik Boheman, and his maternal great-grandfather was entomologist Carl Henrik Boheman. Josephson was the leader of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm from 1966 to 1975 and he also published novels, short stories, poetry and drama, and was the director of several films. In 1980 he directed and starred in the film Marmalade Revolution, in 1986 he starred in The Sacrifice and won the award for Best Actor at the 22nd Guldbagge Awards. He was the Swedish voice to the Narrator in Beauty and the Beast

9.
Shame (1968 film)
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Shame is a 1968 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow. The film explores shame, moral decline, self-loathing and violence through a politically uninvolved couple attempting to flee a war-ravaged European nation, the film was shot on Fårö beginning in 1967, employing miniature models for war scenes. Shame was released during the Vietnam War, although Bergman denied it was a commentary on the real-life conflict and it won a few honors, including for Ullmanns performance. It is followed by Bergmans thematically-related 1969 film The Passion of Anna, a husband and wife, Jan and Eva, are former violinists who are living on a farm on a rural island during a civil war. Their radio and telephone do not work, and Eva expresses frustration at Jans apparent preference of escapism from the conflict, while they debate whether they can have children and if Jan is selfish. The couple visit the town, and hear a rumor that troops will soon come, when they return, their farmhouse becomes the site of a bloody siege. Jan and Eva are captured by the force and interviewed by a military journalist on camera. Eva initially seems indifferent to the conflict, but denies neutrality, and Jan declines to speak and they are later captured again, and as soldiers interrogate them, the troops play the interview video which dubs over Evas words with enemy language. This is primarily a scare tactic, eventually, they are released by Col. Jacobi, who had formerly been serving as the mayor. After the couple returns home, their relationship is strained, Jacobi becomes a regular, if not uncomfortably constant, visitor who treats them with gifts but also has the power to send the couple to a work camp. Jacobi convinces Eva to provide him with sexual favors in exchange for his bank account savings and they go into the green house to have sex while Jan is resting. Eventually, he goes upstairs and finds Jacobis savings on the bed, Eva enters, Jacobi stays outside and turns to leave. She harshly comments to a weeping Jan that he can continue sobbing if he feels it will help, soldiers arrive, and Jacobi explains his freedom can be bought, as the side of the war who is here is in desperate need of money. Jacobi, the soldiers, and Eva ask Jan for the money, Jan states he does not know what money they are talking about. The soldiers raid the house to look for it, in vain and they hand Jan a gun to execute Jacobi, and he does. After the soldiers leave, Jan reveals he had the money in his pocket and this has split their relationship irreparably and causes repeated break downs. The relationship grows silent and cold, when Jan and Eva meet a young soldier, Eva wants to feed him and allow him to sleep. Jan violently takes him away to shoot and rob him, Eva follows Jan towards the sea, and he uses the money from Jacobi in order to buy them seats on a fishing boat

10.
Hour of the Wolf
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Hour of the Wolf is a 1968 Swedish surrealist–psychological horror–drama film, directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann. Although Hour of the Wolf is seldom listed among Bergmans major works by critics, the film is followed by Bergmans thematically-related films Shame and The Passion of Anna. During the opening credits, Bergman can be overheard giving instructions to, the film is framed through the account of Alma, who addresses the audience directly. She tells of her husbands disappearance, which is explored in a constructed of his diaries. Painter Johan Borg and his young wife Alma live on the island of Baltrum. He is regularly approached by odd and suspicious people and he confides to Alma that he believes them to be demons, and begins to give names to them, including the Bird-Man, the Insects, the Meat-Eaters, the Schoolmaster and The Lady With a Hat. On the nights when Johan cannot sleep, Alma stays awake by his side, one day, an old lady stops by the house and tells Alma to read Johans diary, which he hides under his bed. Alma discovers that Johan is not only haunted by the real or imaginary strangers, the couple are approached by a Baron von Merkens, who lives in a nearby castle. The painter and his wife visit them and their surreal household, after dinner, the barons wife shows the couple into her bedroom, where on display is a portrait of Veronica by Borg. The painting appears to be so beautiful, the barons wife proclaims, after Johan and Alma leave the castle, she confesses to him her fear of losing him to the demons, but also her will not to give up easily. A superimposed title Hour of the Wolf marks the end of part one, again, Alma stays awake with Johan who cannot sleep. He tells her of the vargtimmen, during which, he says and he also recounts his desperate love affair with Veronica and his childhood trauma of being locked into a cupboard where, as his parents said, a small man lived who fed on childrens toes. Then he recalls a confrontation with a boy which occurred some time ago. Whether this encounter took place or is imaginary is never revealed. Alma is shocked by Johans confessions, one of von Merkens guests shows up at the couples house to invite them to another party at the castle, pointing out that Veronica Volger is among the invited guests. He places a pistol on the table, to them against small animals. Johan and Alma get into a fight over his obsession with Veronica, Johan finally picks up the pistol, shoots Alma and runs to the castle. The barons guests, all of whom previously attended, are revealed to be the demons that Johan described to Alma

11.
Persona (1966 film)
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Persona is a 1966 Swedish psychological drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann. Persona’s story revolves around a nurse named Alma and her patient, a well-known stage actress named Elisabet Vogler. The two move to a cottage, where Alma cares for and talks to Elisabet about intimate secrets, Bergman wrote the film with Ullmann and Andersson in mind for the lead parts, and some idea of exploring their identities, and shot the film in Stockholm and Fårö. Often categorized as a horror, Persona deals with themes of duality, insanity. In its release, the film was subject to cuts because of its subject matter. It won the award for Best Film at the 4th Guldbagge Awards and was Swedens entry for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Many critics consider it one of the greatest films ever made, the film has influenced many later directors, such as Robert Altman and David Lynch. One of these women is possibly Alma, a nurse who is assigned by a doctor to see a patient. Elisabet is an actress who has suddenly fallen silent and still, although the doctors have determined it is not a result of physical illness or hysteria. While at the hospital, Alma reads Elisabet a letter from her husband and she also becomes distressed seeing TV footage of monk Thích Quảng Đứcs self-immolation in the Vietnam War. The doctor decides Elisabet will recover better in a cottage by the sea, while at the cottage, Alma talks to Elisabet, remarking no one has ever really listened to her before. She speaks about her first affair and her fiancé, Karl-Henrik, one night, she relates how, while in a relationship with Karl-Henrik, she was sunbathing in the nude with a woman she had just met named Katarina, when two young boys came along. Katarina initiated an orgy in which Alma became pregnant, and she had an abortion, Alma drives to town to deliver their letters, but sees Elisabets is unsealed. She reads it, and finds Elisabet has written she is studying Alma and has told of Almas orgy, furious, Alma accuses Elisabet of using her, though she does not know for what purpose. In a resulting brawl, Alma attempts to scald Elisabet with boiling water, but stops when Elisabet cries for her to not to, Alma tells her she knows she is a terrible person, and when Elisabet runs off, Alma chases after her and begs for her forgiveness. Elisabet also sees the Stroop Report photograph of Jews arrested in the Warsaw Ghetto, one night, Alma hears a man outside calling for Elisabet, and finds it is the husband, Mr. Vogler. Mr. Vogler addresses Alma as Elisabet, despite her telling him he is mistaken, Alma meets with Elisabet again, feeling a need to talk about why Elisabet tore the photo of her son. Alma reveals much of Elisabets story, that she wanted the only thing she did not have, to be a mother, Elisabet came to regret the decision, and attempted self-induced abortion, but gave birth to a boy she hates

12.
Rotten Tomatoes
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Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by Senh Duong and since January 2010 has been owned by Flixster, in February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcasts Fandango. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, since 2007, the websites editor-in-chief has been Matt Atchity. The name, Rotten Tomatoes, derives from the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes when disapproving of a stage performance. From early 2008 to September 2010, Current Television aired the weekly The Rotten Tomatoes Show, featuring hosts, a shorter segment was incorporated into the weekly show, InfoMania, which ended in 2011. In September 2013, the website introduced TV Zone, a section for reviewing scripted TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes was launched on August 12,1998, as a spare-time project by Senh Duong. His goal in creating Rotten Tomatoes was to create a site where people can get access to reviews from a variety of critics in the U. S. As a fan of Jackie Chans, Duong was inspired to create the website after collecting all the reviews of Chans movies as they were being published in the United States, the first movie whose reviews were featured on Rotten Tomatoes was Your Friends & Neighbors. The website was an success, receiving mentions by Netscape, Yahoo. and USA Today within the first week of its launch. They officially launched it on April 1,2000, in June 2004, IGN Entertainment acquired rottentomatoes. com for an undisclosed sum. In September 2005, IGN was bought by News Corps Fox Interactive Media, in January 2010, IGN sold the website to Flixster. The combined reach of both companies is 30 million unique visitors a month across all different platforms, according to the companies, in May 2011, Flixster was acquired by Warner Bros. In early 2009, Current Television launched the version of the web review site. It was hosted by Brett Erlich and Ellen Fox and written by Mark Ganek, the show aired every Thursday at 10,30 EST on the Current TV network. The last episode aired on September 16,2010 and it returned as a much shorter segment of InfoMania, a satirical news show that ended in 2011. By late 2009, the website was designed to enable Rotten Tomatoes users to create, one group, The Golden Oyster Awards, accepted votes of members for different awards, as if in parallel to the better-known Oscars or Golden Globes. When Flixster bought the company, they disbanded the groups, announcing, in the meantime, please use the Forums to continue your conversations about your favorite movie topics. As of February 2011, new community features have been added, for example, users can no longer sort films by fresh ratings from rotten ratings, and vice versa

13.
Film4
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Film4 is a British digital television channel available in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by the Channel Four Television Corporation, that screens films. It offers films in standard definition free of charge, to access the high definition version of the channel, viewers must have a paid subscription with Virgin Media or Sky. The channel is available in the Republic of Ireland on Virgin Media, Sky and Eir Vision. The companys first production was Walter, directed by Stephen Frears, in 1998, the outfit was re-branded as FilmFour, to coincide with the launch of a new Digital TV channel of the same name. Film4 was originally known as FilmFour and became Channel 4s second channel and it was a subscription-only service available on satellite television via the Sky platform, digital terrestrial via ITV Digital, and most UK cable services. It cost £5.99 a month, eventually rising to £7, the launch night, which was also broadcast on Channel 4, was hosted by Johnny Vaughan and the first film to be shown was Whats Eating Gilbert Grape. Channel 4 cut its budget from £30 to £10 million and 50 staff in 2002, due to mounting losses, the cuts were a consequence of FilmFours unsuccessful attempts to compete with Hollywood. David Thompson, head of BBC Films, described it as a sad day for the British film industry. The British film industry needs right now and this doesnt inspire confidence, In 2004. The name Film4 Productions was introduced in 2006 to tie in with the relaunch of the FilmFour broadcast channel as Film4, FilmFour Weekly ceased broadcasting on 19 July 2006 when the subscription service ended. The subscription service ended on 19 July 2006 and the channel re-launched as a free-to-air service a few days later on 23 July, when the channel became free, it also returned to digital terrestrial as part of the Freeview brand, and became completely free-to-air on satellite television. Due to the change, the channels availability increased from 300,000 to 18 million households and it also changed its broadcasting hours to 12,45 -08,45, and commercial breaks were included during films for the first time. The first film broadcast under the new format was the British non-subscription television premiere of Lost in Translation, prior to the arrivals of Movie Mix and movies4men on the Freeview platform, Film4 was the only free film channel available on digital terrestrial television. From 23 May 2009, the hours were changed to 11, 00am -04, 00am. On 1 November 2010, Film4 partnered with FilmFlex to launch Film4oD, on 2 September 2014, Film 4 debuted a new on-air look, designed by Man vs. Machine. There are 15 new idents in the series run alongside a new on-screen presentation. On 6 July 2017, Film4 will have been end-of-part programmes going in to, Film4 did not originally broadcast many blockbusters, but nowadays broadcasts many mainstream Hollywood films. The channel frequently has themed nights or seasons in which a number of films centred on one genre, as Channel 4 also owns a film production company, Film4 Productions, it shows many of its in-house productions

14.
IMDb
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In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon Inc, who were then able to use it as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes. As of January 2017, IMDb has approximately 4.1 million titles and 7.7 million personalities in its database, the site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Although all data is checked before going live, the system has open to abuse. The site also featured message boards which stimulate regular debates and dialogue among authenticated users, IMDb shutdown the message boards permanently on February 20,2017. Anyone with a connection can read the movie and talent pages of IMDb. A registration process is however, to contribute info to the site. A registered user chooses a name for themselves, and is given a profile page. These badges range from total contributions made, to independent categories such as photos, trivia, bios, if a registered user or visitor happens to be in the entertainment industry, and has an IMDb page, that user/visitor can add photos to that page by enrolling in IMDbPRO. Actors, crew, and industry executives can post their own resume and this fee enrolls them in a membership called IMDbPro. PRO can be accessed by anyone willing to pay the fee, which is $19.99 USD per month, or if paid annually, $149.99, which comes to approximately $12.50 per month USD. Membership enables a user to access the rank order of each industry personality, as well as agent contact information for any actor, producer, director etc. that has an IMDb page. Enrolling in PRO for industry personnel, enables those members the ability to upload a head shot to open their page, as well as the ability to upload hundreds of photos to accompany their page. Anyone can register as a user, and contribute to the site as well as enjoy its content, however those users enrolled in PRO have greater access and privileges. IMDb originated with a Usenet posting by British film fan and computer programmer Col Needham entitled Those Eyes, others with similar interests soon responded with additions or different lists of their own. Needham subsequently started an Actors List, while Dave Knight began a Directors List, and Andy Krieg took over THE LIST from Hank Driskill, which would later be renamed the Actress List. Both lists had been restricted to people who were alive and working, the goal of the participants now was to make the lists as inclusive as possible. By late 1990, the lists included almost 10,000 movies and television series correlated with actors and actresses appearing therein. On October 17,1990, Needham developed and posted a collection of Unix shell scripts which could be used to search the four lists, at the time, it was known as the rec. arts. movies movie database

15.
Swedish Film Database
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The Swedish Film Database is an internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute. It contains information about all Swedish films from 1897 onwards and foreign films that had cinema premiere in Sweden and it also provides a lot of biographies of actors, directors, producers etc. who participated in Swedish films over the years. It is created with the support of the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, the database comprises about 62,000 films and 265,000 people

16.
Crisis (1946 film)
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Crisis is a 1946 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film was Bergmans first feature as director and he wrote the screenplay. The story follows a girl living a quiet life in a small town with her foster mother. Nelly is an innocent 18-year-old becoming increasingly aware of the effect that her beauty has on the men of her little Swedish village, ingeborg is a respectably dour woman who teaches piano to village youth and has undoubtedly sacrificed much for the sake of her foster daughter. Jenny has had a rough past, involving prostitution and other scandals, among them is a dapper mustachioed gentleman acquaintance named Jack, who follows Jenny to the village as an uninvited guest

17.
It Rains on Our Love
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It Rains on Our Love is a 1946 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The screenplay was written by Herbert Grevenius and Bergman, based on the Norwegian play Bra Mennesker by Oskar Braaten and it Rains on Our Love is the first film directed by Bergman to include actor Gunnar Björnstrand in a credited role. Björnstrand would go on to act in nearly twenty of Bergmans films, david Lindell and Maggi are not lucky. David landed in prison, but now wants to start a new life, Maggi aimed to be an actress, but got pregnant during a chance encounter and has now fled to a provincial town to give herself a second chance. The lovers represent everything the straitlaced society rejects

18.
A Ship Bound for India
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A Ship Bound for India is a 1947 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally released as A Ship to India in the United Kingdom, the screenplay was written by Bergman, based on the play by Martin Söderhjelm. The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival, the film tells the story of the past of the character Johannes, and his relationships with his cruel father, his mother, and his fathers mistress with whom Johannes falls in love. The movie contains sequences of despair and anguish, the film is about the relationships within a family, a subject with which Bergman often dealt in later films, and uses other common devices of Bergman such as the hard father figure

19.
Music in Darkness
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Music in Darkness is a 1948 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The screenplay was written by Bergman and Dagmar Edqvist, whose novel, talented pianist Bengt Vyldeke loses his sight after being accidentally shot during a military exercise. Bengt is gripped by increasing bitterness and develops a relationship with Ingrid, the theme of blindness and of a blinds person subjective experience plays a major role in the psychological study depicted in the movie. Bergman was deeply passionate about music and once said, If I had to choose between losing my eyes or ears—I would keep my ears, I cant imagine anything more terrible than to have my music taken away from me. Schroeder Olof Winnerstrand as The Vicar Music in Darkness at the Internet Movie Database Music in Darkness at the Swedish Film Institute Database

20.
Thirst (1949 film)
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Thirst is a 1949 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was released as Three Strange Loves in the United Kingdom, Rut and her husband Bertil travel home by train after a holiday in Italy. Their marriage is unhappy due to Ruts changing moods and heavy drinking, while passing through the ruins of post-war Germany, Rut recalls an earlier affair with married military officer Raoul. Raoul forced her to abort their child, which resulted in complications and her friend and co-dancer Valborg, disgusted by men, turned to other women. Bertil is still haunted by an affair with widow Viola. While Rut and Bertil travel home, the film shows Violas escape from a sadistic psychiatrist, her encounter with Valborg, who tries to seduce her. Meanwhile, the tensions between Rut and Bertil escalate, and Bertil seemingly kills Rut after a fight, Bertil awakens and realises that he imagined Ruts death. The couple decide to give their marriage another chance, eva Henning as Rut Birger Malmsten as Bertil Birgit Tengroth as Viola Hasse Ekman as Dr. Svensk Filmindustri offered Bergman to produce his next film. Thirst was based on a story collection published by Birgit Tengroth in 1948, Herbert Grevenius. Bergman asked Tengroth to star in his film, who helped him in finding the tone in the lesbian scene between Viola and Valborg. Shooting took place between 15 March and 5 July 1949, Thirst premiered on 17 October 1949 in Sweden and on 30 August 1956 in the US. Swedish Critic Jörn Donner later called Thirst a commercial version of Prison, françois Truffaut saw similarities between Bergmans film and Alfred Hitchcocks Suspicion and Rich and Strange. Bergman on Bergman, Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, New York 1973, Thirst at the Internet Movie Database Thirst at the Swedish Film Institute Database

21.
Summer Interlude
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Summer Interlude is a 1951 Swedish drama film co-written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film opened to positive reviews from critics. Marie is a successful but emotionally distant prima ballerina in her late twenties, three days before the end of the summer when Henrik is to return to college and Marie to the theatre, Henrik falls and suffers injuries that result in his death after diving from a cliff face. While visiting Erlands house she discovers that it was he who sent the diary to her at the theatre and she expresses regret and disgust that she ever allowed Erland to touch her, suggesting that he took advantage of her grief and they had an affair following Henriks death. Marie decides to let David read Henriks diary and then open up to him about her past experiences in order to explain her conflicted feelings and emotional coldness. After he has left, she removes her make up and as she does so regains some of her lost youth and innocence, smiling again and pulling faces in the mirror. The film concludes during the successful first performance where we see Marie meeting David, now more understanding of Maries past and she happily kisses him and returns to the stage to finish the ballet. The animated sequence was made by Rune Andréasson, who would become well known in Sweden for the cartoon Bamse. In one sequence, Henrik and Marie pick wild strawberries together, visually there is also Bergmans use of fluid black and white cinematography coupled with slow crossfades. Bergman said of his film in 1971, I had always felt technically crippled—insecure with the crew, the cameras, sometimes a film succeeded, but I never got what I wanted to get. But in Summer Interlude, I suddenly felt that I knew my profession and he wrote in the critical study Bergman on Bergman, For me Summer Interlude is one of my most important films. Even though to an outsider it may seem terribly passé, for me it isnt. This was my first film in which I felt I was functioning independently, with a style of my own, making an all my own, with a particular appearance of its own. It was like no other film, suddenly I knew I was putting the camera on the right spot, getting the right results, that everything added up. For sentimental reasons, too, it was fun making it. Ingmar Bergmans method of making film is miraculous and he belongs to a handful here and there in the world who are now discovering the future articulation of film, and the result can be revolutionary. There are five or six films in the history of the cinema which one wants to simply by saying. Because there can be no higher praise, Bergman found his style in this film, and it is regarded by cinema historians not only as his breakthrough but also as the beginning of a new, great epoch in Swedish films

22.
Secrets of Women
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Secrets of Women is a 1952 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was screened within the selection of Venice Film Festival. It is one of Bergmans early films, and essentially a drama about young relationships told in flashbacks by a group of women, however, as it came to be afterwards, the most memorable part of the film is the humorous elevator-scene between actors Gunnar Björnstrand and Eva Dahlbeck. This scene was Bergmans first attempt at comedy in film and he later stated it was this scene that made him realize he could write comedy at all, which many say he repeated more successfully in the films A Lesson in Love and Smiles of a Summer Night. Since its release, Secrets of Women, while not regarded as one of Bergmans strongest efforts, has received positive reviews from film critics. Secrets of Women at the Internet Movie Database Secrets of Women at the Swedish Film Institute Database

23.
Summer with Monika
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Summer with Monika is a 1953 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman, based on Per Anders Fogelströms 1951 novel of the same title. The film made a star of its lead actress, Harriet Andersson, Bergman had been intimately involved with Andersson at the time and conceived the film as a vehicle for her. The films story begins in the bleak working-class milieu of Stockholm, Harry and Monika are both in dead end jobs when they meet. Harry is easygoing, while Monika is adventurous, but they fall in love, when Monika gets in trouble at home, Harry steals his fathers boat, and he and Monika spend an idyllic summer in the Stockholm archipelago. When the end of the summer forces them to return home, Harry happily accepts responsibility and settles down with Monika and their child, he gets a real job and studies to provide for his family. Monika, however, is unsatisfied with her role as homemaker and she yearns for excitement and adventure, a desire which finally leads her astray. Harry is left behind with the child, to increase excitement for the film, he edited it down to 62 minutes and emphasized the films nudity. Renaming the film Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl, he provided a good deal of promotional material. Summer with Monika has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Summer with Monika was the first Bergman film seen by Woody Allen, The first Bergman I ever saw was that one because there was talk in the neighborhood that there was a nude scene. This was unheard of in any American film, that level of advancement, it’s so funny to think of it that way. I saw it, and it was a very, very interesting film apart from the utterly benign nude moment, a short time after that, I just happened to see Sawdust and Tinsel. I had no idea it was done by Bergman — that is, I was riveted in my seat by it all. I thought to myself, Who is this guy. ”Nudity in film Summer with Monika at the Internet Movie Database Summer with Monika at the Swedish Film Institute Database

24.
Sawdust and Tinsel
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Sawdust and Tinsel is a 1953 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. An aging circus ringmaster visits his wife to see his young sons. Meanwhile, his jealous young lover has an affair with an actor, in 2012 it was voted one of the 25 best Swedish films of all time. The film was shown as part of an Ingmar Bergman Retrospective at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in 2011, Sawdust and Tinsel at the Internet Movie Database Sawdust and Tinsel at the Swedish Film Institute Database Sawdust and Tinsel at Rotten Tomatoes Sawdust and Tinsel at AllMovie

25.
A Lesson in Love
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A Lesson in Love is a 1954 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film is about the marriage of a gynecologist named David, the films score was composed by Dag Wirén. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 100% approval, with a rating of 7. 2/10. A Lesson in Love at the Internet Movie Database A Lesson in Love at the Swedish Film Institute Database

26.
Smiles of a Summer Night
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Smiles of a Summer Night is a 1955 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was shown at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, in 2005 TIME magazine ranked it one of the 100 greatest films since 1923. The film takes place in Sweden around the turn of the twentieth century, Fredrik Egerman is a middle-aged lawyer married to a 19-year-old beauty, Anne. Their two-year marriage is still unconsummated, due to Annes reluctance, Fredrik has a son, Henrik, from his marriage to his late first wife. Henrik is in his twenties and is studying to be a minister but is currently tormented by his love for his step-mother. Henrik is distracting himself from his urges by attempting an inconclusive affair with Fredriks lusty young servant, between his two marriages, Fredrik had an affair with a prominent stage actress, the beautiful Desiree Armfeldt, but she broke off the relationship. Desiree now has a son named Fredrik, born shortly after her affair with Fredrik Egerman. Desiree is now having an affair with an officer, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. The Counts wife, Charlotte, is an old friend of Anne Egerman, Fredrik goes to see Desiree one night to pour out his marital troubles to her and ask for her help. Fredrik falls into a puddle outside Desirees house, and Desiree dresses him in the Counts nightshirt, the violently jealous Count shows up and orders Fredrik to leave. After Fredrik goes, the Count and Desiree argue and subsequently decide to part amicably, when the Count returns home, he tells Charlotte about the encounter and orders her to tell Anne Egerman about Fredriks supposed infidelity. When Charlotte visits Anne, she confesses that she loves the Count despite everything, Desiree and Charlotte become temporary allies. Henrik and Anne, unexpectedly finding themselves alone together in a bedroom, consummate their relationship and elope with the assistance of Petra and her new lover Frid, Charlotte then joins Fredrik in the garden pavilion. Learning his wife is with Fredrik, the Count bursts in, Fredrik loses but the Count had loaded the revolver with soot so neither party was ever in danger. The Count reunites with his wife, his feelings for her renewed by his jealousy, Desiree comforts Fredrik and he asks her not to leave him. The dilemmas of the four pairs of lovers appear to be resolved in the course of a night. Armfeldt Jullan Kindahl – Beata Gull Natorp – Malla Birgitta Valberg – Actress Bibi Andersson – Actress Smiles of a Summer Night opened to positive reviews and is viewed favorably today. It has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes

27.
The Seventh Seal
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The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish drama-fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death. Bergman developed the film from his own play Wood Painting, here the motif of silence refers to the silence of God, which is a major theme of the film. The Seventh Seal is considered a classic of world cinema, as well as one of the greatest movies of all time and it established Bergman as a world-renowned director, containing scenes which have become iconic through homages, critical analysis, and parodies. Disillusioned knight Antonius Block and his nihilistic squire Jöns return after fighting in the Crusades, on the beach immediately after their arrival, the knight encounters Death, personified as a pale, black-cowled figure resembling a monk. The knight, in the middle of a game he has been playing alone, challenges Death to a chess match. Death agrees, and they start a new game, the knight with his squire heads for his castle. Along the way, they pass some actors, Jof and his wife Mia, with their infant son, Mikael, Jof is also a juggler and has visions of Jesus and Mary, but Mia is skeptical of them. The knight and squire enter a church where a fresco of the Dance of Death is being painted, the squire draws a small figure representing himself. Upon revealing the chess strategy that will save his life, the knight discovers that the priest is Death, Leaving the church, the knight speaks to a young woman who has been condemned to be burned at the stake for consorting with the devil. Shortly thereafter, the squire searches an abandoned village for water and he saves a servant girl from being raped by a man robbing a corpse. He recognizes the man as Raval, a theologian, who 10 years prior had convinced the knight to leave his wife, the squire promises to brand the theologian on the face if they meet again. The servant girl joins the squire, the trio ride into town, where the actors met earlier are performing. The actor-manager introduces the actors to the crowd, then is enticed by Lisa. The actors performance is interrupted by the arrival of a procession of flagellants, at a public house, the juggler meets Raval who forces him to dance on the tables like a bear. The squire appears and, true to his word, slices the theologians face, the knight enjoys a country picnic of milk and wild strawberries gathered by the wife of the juggler. The knight says, Ill carry this memory between my hands as if it were bowl filled to the brim with fresh milk. And it will be an adequate sign – it will be enough for me. He invites the actors to his castle, where they will be safer from the plague, along the way, they come across the actor-manager and the blacksmiths wife in the forest

28.
Wild Strawberries (film)
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Wild Strawberries is a 1957 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The original Swedish title is Smultronstället, which literally means The wild strawberry patch but idiomatically signifies an underrated gem of a place, often with personal or sentimental value. The cast includes Victor Sjöström in his final performance as an old man recalling his past, as well as Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin. Max von Sydow also appears in a small role, Bergman wrote the screenplay while hospitalized. Exploring philosophical themes such as introspection and human existence, Wild Strawberries is often considered to be one of Bergmans greatest and most moving films, grouchy, stubborn and egotistical Professor Isak Borg is a widowed 78-year-old physician who specialized in bacteriology. Before specializing he served as general practitioner in rural Sweden and he sets out on a long car ride from Stockholm to Lund to be awarded the degree of Doctor Jubilaris 50 years after he received his doctorate from Lund University. During the trip, Isak is forced by nightmares, daydreams, old age and he meets a series of hitchhikers, each of whom sets off dreams or reveries into Borgs troubled past. The first group consists of two men and their companion, a woman named Sara who is adored by both men. Sara is a double for the love of Isaks youth, the first group remains with him throughout his journey. Next Isak and Marianne pick up an embittered middle-aged couple, the Almans, the pair exchanges such terrible vitriol and venom that Marianne stops the car and demands that they leave. The couple reminds Isak of his own unhappy marriage, in a dream sequence, Isak is asked by Sten Alman, now the examiner, to read “foreign” letters on the blackboard. So, Alman reads it for him, A doctors first duty is to ask forgiveness, from which he concludes and he reminisces about his childhood at the seaside and his sweetheart Sara, with whom he remembered gathering strawberries, but who instead married his brother. In one dream, he is quizzed by a very judgmental medical professor, Borg finally arrives at his destination and is promoted to Doctor Jubilaris, but this proves to be an empty ritual. That night, he bids a loving goodbye to his friends, to whom the once bitter old man whispers in response to a playful declaration of the young girls love. As he goes to his bed in his sons home, he is overcome by a sense of peace, closure and affirmation of life have finally come, and Borgs face radiates joy. Bergmans idea for the film originated on a drive from Stockholm to Dalarna during which he stopped in Uppsala, driving by his grandmothers house, he suddenly imagined how it would be if he could open the door and inside find everything just as it was during his childhood. That was actually the idea behind Wild Strawberries, later, he would revise the story of the films genesis. In Images, My Life in Film, he comments on his own earlier statement, the truth is that I am forever living in my childhood

29.
Brink of Life
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Brink of Life, is a 1958 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman won the Best Director Award and Anderson, Dahlbeck, Ornäs, nordlander Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz as Counsellor Gran Inga Landgré as Greta Ellius Brink of Life received generally mixed reviews from critics. In order for the film to be screened publicly, the Committee imposed the removal of the scene in which Stina is in due to labour. The official document number is,31260, it was signed on 20 April 1960 by Minister Domenico Magrì, Brink of Life, So Close to Life at the Internet Movie Database Brink of Life at the Swedish Film Institute Database

30.
The Magician (1958 film)
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The Magician is a 1958 film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Its original Swedish title is Ansiktet, which means The Face, the film stars Max von Sydow as a traveling magician named Albert Vogler. The scientifically minded disbelievers try to expose them as charlatans, the film was distantly inspired by G. K. Chestertons play Magic, which Bergman numbered among his favourites. Bergman staged a production of Magic in Swedish at one point. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 31st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Max von Sydow – Albert Emanuel Vogler Ingrid Thulin – Manda Vogler Gunnar Björnstrand – Dr. Don Druker of the Chicago Reader called it one of Bergmans most tightly structured and frightening films. Woody Allen selected The Magician as one of the five Bergman films that he would most recommend to those unfamiliar with the filmmaker

31.
The Virgin Spring
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The Virgin Spring is a 1960 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in medieval Sweden, it is a rape and revenge tale about a fathers merciless response to the rape, the story was adapted by screenwriter Ulla Isaksson from a 13th-century Swedish ballad, Töres döttrar i Wänge. The film contains a number of themes that question morals, vengeance, the film won for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1961 Academy Awards and other honours. It was also the basis for the 1972 exploitation horror film The Last House on the Left, in medieval Sweden, prosperous Christian Per Töre sends his daughter, Karin, to take candles to the church. Karin is accompanied by her pregnant servant Ingeri, who worships the Norse deity Odin. Along their way through the forest on horseback, Ingeri becomes frightened when they come to a stream-side mill, Ingeri encounters a one-eyed man at the stream-side mill. When Ingeri asks about his name he enigmatically responds he has none in these days, the man tells Ingeri that he can see and hear things others can not. When the man makes sexual advances towards her and promises her power, meanwhile, Karin meets three herdsmen, two men and a boy, and invites them to eat her lunch with her. Eventually, the two men rape and murder Karin while Ingeri watches, hidden, from a distance. The two older men then leave the scene with Karins clothing, the younger boy is left with the body and to watch the goats, but he takes the situation poorly and quickly becomes sick with guilt. The herders then, unknowingly, seek shelter at the home of the murdered girl and her parents discover that the goat herders murdered their daughter when the goat herders offer to sell Karins clothes to her mother. After they fall asleep, the locks the trio in the chamber. Ingeri returns to the farm and breaks down in front of Töre and she tells him about the rape and confesses that she secretly wished for Karins death out of jealousy. In a rage, Töre stabs one of the herders to death with a knife before killing the other two with his bare hands. That same day, the set out to find their daughters body with the help of Ingeri. Töre vows that, although he cannot understand why God would allow such a thing to happen, as her parents lift her head from the ground, a spring begins to flow from where she was lying. Ingeri then begins to wash herself with the water and Karins parents clean their daughters muddied face, a variety of themes explored in the film include Christianity, Paganism, Norse mythology, feelings of guilt, vengeance, the questioning of religious faith and sexual innocence. Much of the religious themes centre on conflict between paganism and Christianity, recalling the misery Sweden experienced as the two struggled for predominance

32.
Through a Glass Darkly (film)
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Through a Glass Darkly is a 1961 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow and Lars Passgård. Bergman structured the film as a play, drawing on his personal experiences. The film was his first of several shot on Fårö, through a Glass Darkly was released to positive reviews, including for Anderssons performance, and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is followed by Bergmans thematically related 1963 films Winter Light, Karins husband Martin tells her father, David, that Karins disease is almost incurable. Meanwhile, Minus, Karins 17-year-old brother, tells Karin that he wishes he could have a conversation with his father. David is a novelist suffering writers block who has just returned from a long trip abroad. He announces he will again in a month, though he promised he would stay. The others perform a play for him that Minus has written, David, while feigning approval of the play, takes offense since the play can be interpreted as an attack on his character. That night, after rejecting Martin’s erotic overtures, Karin wakes up and she faints after an episode in which she hears voices behind the peeling wallpaper. She then enters Davids room and looks through his desk and finds his diary, the following morning, David and Martin, while fishing, confront each other over Karin. Martin accuses David of sacrificing his daughter for his art and of being a self-absorbed, callous, cowardly, David is evasive but admits that much of what Martin says is true. David says that he tried to kill himself by driving over a cliff but was saved by a faulty transmission. He says that after that, he discovered that he loves Karin, Minus and Martin, meanwhile, Karin tells Minus about her episodes, and that she is waiting for God to appear behind the wallpaper in the attic. Minus is somewhat sexually frustrated, and Karin teases him, even more so after she discovers that he hides a mens magazine, later, on the beach, when Karin sees that a storm is coming, she runs into a wrecked ship and huddles in fear. Minus goes to her and she seduces her brother, Minus tells the other men about the incident in the ship and Martin calls for an ambulance. Karin asks to speak with her father alone and she confesses her misconduct toward Martin and Minus, saying that a voice told her to act that way and also to search Davids desk. She tells David she would like to remain at the hospital, because she cannot go back, while they are packing to go to the hospital, she runs to the attic where Martin and David observe her actions. She says that God is about to walk out of the closet door and she becomes fixated on a crack in the wall out of which emerges a spider

33.
Winter Light
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Winter Light is a 1963 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bergman regulars Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. The film follows Tomas Ericsson, pastor of a small rural Swedish church, the film is the second in a series of thematically related films, following Through a Glass Darkly and followed by The Silence, which is sometimes considered a trilogy. Vilgot Sjömans film Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie was made simultaneously with Winter Light, after the service, Tomas, though coming down with a cold, prepares for his 3 oclock service in another town. Before he leaves, however, the Perssons arrive to speak to him, Jonas has become morose after hearing that China is developing an atomic bomb. Tomas speaks to the man briefly, but asks Jonas to return after taking his wife home, No sooner have the Perssons left than substitute teacher Märta enters, and she attempts to comfort the miserable Tomas, and asks if hes read the letter she wrote to him. He has not, and tells her of his failure to help Jonas, Märta states her love for Tomas, but also her belief that he does not love her. She leaves, and Tomas reads her letter, in the letter, Märta describes Tomass neglect of her, relating a story of how a rash that disfigured her body repulsed him, and neither his faith nor his prayers did anything to help her. She writes of how her family was warm and loving without religion, Tomas finishes the letter, and falls asleep. Awakened by the return of Jonas, Tomas clumsily tries to provide counsel and he says his faith was an egotistical one – God loved humanity, but Tomas most of all. Serving in Lisbon during the Spanish Civil War, Tomas could not reconcile his loving God with the atrocities being committed, Tomas finally tells Jonas that things make more sense if we deny the existence of God, because then mans cruelty needs no explanation. Jonas leaves, and Tomas faces the crucifix and declares himself finally free, Märta, who has been lurking in the chapel, is overjoyed to hear this, and embraces Tomas, who again does not respond to her affections. They are interrupted by the widow Magdalena, who tells them that Jonas has just committed suicide with a rifle, Tomas drives, alone, to the scene, and stoically helps the police cover Jonass body with a tarp. Märta arrives on foot, and she and Tomas drive off to her home, waiting in Märtas classroom attached to her house, Tomas finally lashes out at her, telling her first that he rejected her because he was tired of the gossip about them. Though shocked by the attack, Märta agrees to drive him to the Persson house. Informed of Jonass suicide, Karin collapses onto the stairs and wonders how she, Tomas makes a perfunctory offer of help, and leaves. Arriving for the 3 oclock service at the church, Tomas and Märta find the building empty except for Algot, the handicapped sexton, and Fredrik. Fredrik tells Märta that she should leave the town and Tomas and live her life. Meanwhile in the vestry, Algot questions Tomas about the Passion and he asks, Wasnt Gods silence worse

Ingmar Bergman
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Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer, and producer who worked in film, television, theatre and radio. He directed over sixty films and documentaries for cinematic release and for television and he also directed over 170 plays. From 1953 he forged a creative partnership with his full-time cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Among his compan

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Bergman during production of Wild Strawberries (1957)

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A young Bergman

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Ingmar Bergman and Victor Sjöström on the set of Wild Strawberries (1957)

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Ingmar Bergman with his long-time cinematographer Sven Nykvist during the production of Through a Glass Darkly (1960)

Max von Sydow
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Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor who became a French citizen in 2002. He has appeared in films in many languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, English, French, Italian. He received the Royal Foundation of Swedens Cultural Award in 1954, was made a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 2005, Sydow has appeared in well over a hundred

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Von Sydow at the 2006 San Sebastián International Film Festival

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Von Sydow at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Liv Ullmann
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Liv Johanne Ullmann is a Norwegian actress and film director. She is known as one of the muses of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, Ullmann won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama in 1972 for the film The Emigrants, and has been nominated for another four. In 2000, she was nominated for the Palme dOr for her directorial feat

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Ullmann at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival

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Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and Liv Ullmann at the Four Freedoms Award ceremony in Middelburg on 23 June 1984.

Bibi Andersson
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Bibi Andersson is a Swedish actress. Bibi Andersson was born as Berit Elisabeth Andersson in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, the daughter of Karin, a worker, and Josef Andersson. She studied acting at the Terserus Drama School and at the legendary Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm, after completing school, she agreed to join the Royal Dramatic The

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Bibi Andersson, 21 December 1957

Sven Nykvist
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Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman. His work is noted for its naturalism and simplicity. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, in 2003, Nykvist was judged one of historys ten most influential cinematogr

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Sven Nykvist on the cover of his book Vördnad för ljuset ("Reverence for the light"). 1997.

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Sven Nykvist with director Ingmar Bergman during the production of Through a Glass Darkly, 1960.

United Artists
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United Artists is an American film and television entertainment studio. The studio was bought, sold and restructured over the ensuing century. On December 14 of the year, however, MGM acquired the 48% stake of UAMG it did not own. UA was incorporated as a joint venture on February 5,1919, by Pickford, Chaplin, Fairbanks, each held a 20% stake, with

Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken natively by more than 9 million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of t

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The initial page of the first complete copy of Västgötalagen, the law code of Västergötland, from c. 1280. It is one of the earliest texts in Swedish written in the Latin script.

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Major Swedish-speaking areas

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Front page of Gustav Vasa 's Bible from 1541, using Fraktur. The title translated to English reads: "The Bible / That is / The Holy Scripture / in Swedish. Printed in Uppsala. 1541".

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August Strindberg, one of the most influential writers in modern Swedish literature.

Erland Josephson
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Erland Josephson was a Swedish actor and author. He was best known by audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky. Josephson was born on the island of Kungsholmen, in Stockholm, Sweden, as the son of Maud Ellen Gabrielle and Gunnar August Josephson and his uncle was diplomat Erik Boheman, and his maternal great-gran

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Josephson as newly appointed director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1965

Shame (1968 film)
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Shame is a 1968 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow. The film explores shame, moral decline, self-loathing and violence through a politically uninvolved couple attempting to flee a war-ravaged European nation, the film was shot on Fårö beginning in 1967, employing miniature models fo

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English cover.

Hour of the Wolf
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Hour of the Wolf is a 1968 Swedish surrealist–psychological horror–drama film, directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann. Although Hour of the Wolf is seldom listed among Bergmans major works by critics, the film is followed by Bergmans thematically-related films Shame and The Passion of Anna. During the opening credits,

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Original Swedish theatrical poster

Persona (1966 film)
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Persona is a 1966 Swedish psychological drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann. Persona’s story revolves around a nurse named Alma and her patient, a well-known stage actress named Elisabet Vogler. The two move to a cottage, where Alma cares for and talks to Elisabet about intimate secrets, Ber

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The original Swedish poster

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Stroop Report photograph found by Elisabet: "Forcibly pulled out of dug-outs"

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Persona' s frequent shots of overlapping faces.

Rotten Tomatoes
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Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by Senh Duong and since January 2010 has been owned by Flixster, in February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcasts Fandango. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, since

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60–100%

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≤0-59%

Film4
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Film4 is a British digital television channel available in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by the Channel Four Television Corporation, that screens films. It offers films in standard definition free of charge, to access the high definition version of the channel, viewers must have a paid subscription with Virgin Media or Sky. The channel is

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Film4

IMDb
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In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon Inc, who were then able to use it as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes. As of January 2017, IMDb has approximately 4.1 million titles and 7.7 million personalities in its database, the site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Although all data

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Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Swedish Film Database
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The Swedish Film Database is an internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute. It contains information about all Swedish films from 1897 onwards and foreign films that had cinema premiere in Sweden and it also provides a lot of biographies of actors, directors, producers etc. who participated in Swedish films over t

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The editors of the Swedish film database in December 2009

Crisis (1946 film)
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Crisis is a 1946 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film was Bergmans first feature as director and he wrote the screenplay. The story follows a girl living a quiet life in a small town with her foster mother. Nelly is an innocent 18-year-old becoming increasingly aware of the effect that her beauty has on the men of her little Swedish vi

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Crisis

It Rains on Our Love
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It Rains on Our Love is a 1946 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The screenplay was written by Herbert Grevenius and Bergman, based on the Norwegian play Bra Mennesker by Oskar Braaten and it Rains on Our Love is the first film directed by Bergman to include actor Gunnar Björnstrand in a credited role. Björnstrand would go on to act in

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Film poster

A Ship Bound for India
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A Ship Bound for India is a 1947 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally released as A Ship to India in the United Kingdom, the screenplay was written by Bergman, based on the play by Martin Söderhjelm. The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival, the film tells the story of the past of the character Johannes, and his

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A Ship Bound for India

Music in Darkness
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Music in Darkness is a 1948 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The screenplay was written by Bergman and Dagmar Edqvist, whose novel, talented pianist Bengt Vyldeke loses his sight after being accidentally shot during a military exercise. Bengt is gripped by increasing bitterness and develops a relationship with Ingrid, the theme of bli

Thirst (1949 film)
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Thirst is a 1949 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was released as Three Strange Loves in the United Kingdom, Rut and her husband Bertil travel home by train after a holiday in Italy. Their marriage is unhappy due to Ruts changing moods and heavy drinking, while passing through the ruins of post-war Germany, Rut recalls an earlier a

Summer Interlude
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Summer Interlude is a 1951 Swedish drama film co-written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film opened to positive reviews from critics. Marie is a successful but emotionally distant prima ballerina in her late twenties, three days before the end of the summer when Henrik is to return to college and Marie to the theatre, Henrik falls and suffers

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DVD cover

Secrets of Women
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Secrets of Women is a 1952 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was screened within the selection of Venice Film Festival. It is one of Bergmans early films, and essentially a drama about young relationships told in flashbacks by a group of women, however, as it came to be afterwards, the most memorable part of the film is the humorous eleva

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Secrets of Women

Summer with Monika
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Summer with Monika is a 1953 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman, based on Per Anders Fogelströms 1951 novel of the same title. The film made a star of its lead actress, Harriet Andersson, Bergman had been intimately involved with Andersson at the time and conceived the film as a vehicle for her. The films story begins in the bleak working-clas

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Original Swedish film poster

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Two small promotional flyers for the American presentation of the film.

Sawdust and Tinsel
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Sawdust and Tinsel is a 1953 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. An aging circus ringmaster visits his wife to see his young sons. Meanwhile, his jealous young lover has an affair with an actor, in 2012 it was voted one of the 25 best Swedish films of all time. The film was shown as part of an Ingmar Bergman Retrospective at the 61st Ber

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Film poster

A Lesson in Love
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A Lesson in Love is a 1954 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film is about the marriage of a gynecologist named David, the films score was composed by Dag Wirén. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 100% approval, with a rating of 7. 2/10. A Lesson in Love at the Internet Movie Database A Lesson in Love at the Swedish Film In

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A Lesson in Love

Smiles of a Summer Night
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Smiles of a Summer Night is a 1955 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was shown at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, in 2005 TIME magazine ranked it one of the 100 greatest films since 1923. The film takes place in Sweden around the turn of the twentieth century, Fredrik Egerman is a middle-aged lawyer married to a 19-year-old beauty,

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Smiles of a Summer Night

The Seventh Seal
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The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish drama-fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death. Bergman developed the film from his own play Wood Painting, here the motif of silence refers to the silence of God, wh

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Theatrical release poster

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Death and Antonius Block choose sides for the chess game; Death gets the black pieces.

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Filming of The Seventh Seal at Filmstaden

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Death playing chess, from Täby Church, fresco by Albertus Pictor

Wild Strawberries (film)
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Wild Strawberries is a 1957 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The original Swedish title is Smultronstället, which literally means The wild strawberry patch but idiomatically signifies an underrated gem of a place, often with personal or sentimental value. The cast includes Victor Sjöström in his final performance as an old

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Theatrical release poster

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Ingmar Bergman (L) and Victor Sjöström (R) in 1957, during production of Wild Strawberries in the studios in Solna.

Brink of Life
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Brink of Life, is a 1958 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman won the Best Director Award and Anderson, Dahlbeck, Ornäs, nordlander Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz as Counsellor Gran Inga Landgré as Greta Ellius Brink of Life received generally mixed reviews from critics. In order for the film to be screened publicly, the Committee imposed

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Swedish poster

The Magician (1958 film)
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The Magician is a 1958 film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Its original Swedish title is Ansiktet, which means The Face, the film stars Max von Sydow as a traveling magician named Albert Vogler. The scientifically minded disbelievers try to expose them as charlatans, the film was distantly inspired by G. K. Chestertons play Magic, which Be

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Film poster

The Virgin Spring
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The Virgin Spring is a 1960 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in medieval Sweden, it is a rape and revenge tale about a fathers merciless response to the rape, the story was adapted by screenwriter Ulla Isaksson from a 13th-century Swedish ballad, Töres döttrar i Wänge. The film contains a number of themes that question morals, vengeance

Through a Glass Darkly (film)
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Through a Glass Darkly is a 1961 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow and Lars Passgård. Bergman structured the film as a play, drawing on his personal experiences. The film was his first of several shot on Fårö, through a Glass Darkly was released to positive r

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The original Swedish poster

Winter Light
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Winter Light is a 1963 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bergman regulars Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. The film follows Tomas Ericsson, pastor of a small rural Swedish church, the film is the second in a series of thematically related films, following Through a Glass Darkly and followed b